Coronation Street unveils Weatherfield Precinct set expansion

Residents of Coronation Street have long frequented the precinct, but now viewers can experience the shopping centre with their favorite characters for the first time. It was officially declared open for business today (Thursday, December 1st) by cast members Sally Dynevor, Antony Cotton, Jimmi Harkishin, Daniel Brockelbank, Channique Sterling-Brown, Elle Mulvaney, Tanisha Gorey, James Craven and Colson Smith.

The first scene will be filmed next week, 9 months since building work started on the new exterior set, and will air on January 13th.

Featuring maisonettes, a staircase and balcony leading to the properties, a piazza and an array of accessible local shops and units, the construction enhances and extends the programme’s 7.7 acre site in Trafford, near Manchester.

A children’s park and play area with swings and a roundabout adds extra scope for filming away from the cobbles.

Producer Iain MacLeod said:

“Hats off to our design and construction teams who have conjured a totally convincing new precinct for our drama! They took their inspiration from Salford’s many real-world, late 20th century shopping areas and what they have created is a brilliant, characterful space to tell a diverse range of stories. Expect to see teens hanging out at the dessert shop, families enjoying the play area and, after dark, a rogues’ gallery, up to shady business in the ginnels. I am really excited by the arrival on screen of this much discussed but never seen corner of the Weatherfield universe.”

As part of the wider Weatherfield community, the precinct has often cropped up in the soap’s dialogue with characters heading off to the parade of shops. By making it an on-screen location, the soap has capitalized on the extra space at its MediaCity site and has increased its ability to tell storylines beyond the cobbles of Coronation Street.

The set was artificially aged to look as if it had been around for a long time. The shops on the set are representative of many similar 1960s retail precincts across the country. The charity shop will be one of the first to provide a new workplace for residents when Roy Cropper and Evelyn Plumber volunteer.

Head of Design Rosie Mullins said;

“Back in 2013 Coronation Street moved into its new home at Media City. With this move came exciting potential to continue to develop and expand our Weatherfield Community onsite. The first expansion came in the form of Victoria Street and Weatherfield Police Station builds back in 2018. In February 2021 I set about the first pencil drawings for a very exciting new exterior build – Weatherfield Precinct.

“It was inspired by the 1960s shopping precincts that we see across many areas of the UK. The team gathered hundreds of images with a particular focus given to those in our local Manchester and Salford area. [There’s] an array of businesses, a playground, residential flats, a small ginnel, Weatherfield community hub and a very colourful community recycling centre. Working with Iain on what the writing team needs from the Precinct has meant that we have managed to pack so much into this new set.

!The most incredible part of this has been watching this build rise from a small car park with a mass of ugly steel, concrete and timber to the beautifully constructed, characterful 1960s 2 storey precinct that we see today.”

Facts

• The build was completed in just 9 months whilst filming 5 days a week continued around it.
• The need to employ external contractors was limited to a structural engineer, CDM advisor, Steel fabricators, Scaffolders & core electrical works. From the Corrie team it took 1 Production Designer, 1 Construction Manager, 1 Art Director, 2 Site Supervising Joiners, 2 Painter & Decorators, 2 Scenic Painters, 11 joiners, 2 builders, 3 Construction workers applying brick slips, 5 dressers, 4 electricians, 2 Production buyers.
• Many elements of the build like the shop fronts, windows and doors were created in the Construction Workshop. They are all designed to limit reflections and to make the precinct filming friendly.
• The build is primarily a façade. Some of the doorways have displays dressed inside the doorways giving the illusion of depth.
• There is a practical balcony that can be used for filming.
• The method of construction has been from a timber frame secured to existing steel covered with cement board with a final application of brick slips.
• The windows, doors and businesses were all made offsite in the construction workshop from hardwood for longevity and fitted onsite.

ITV note that the project was sustainable reusing props and leftovers from previous set builds.

Doris Speed launches building work for the new Coronation Street back lot in 1981.

The first Coronation Street outdoor set was opened in 1968, when the previous indoor wooden street exteriors were taken outside to give it an added air of reality, following ATV’s Honey Lane in the previous year having the first soap ‘backlot’ in operation. Later in ’68 a brick front and partial roof construction for the fictional street was built, however was never particularly popular with the cast due to the cold and damp that came with just a facade.

In 1982 Granada opened the longest-running terraced backlot construction, which featured almost full-size houses. It was used until 2013 when production on the show moved from Granada Quay Street to the Salford Quays site the ITV saga currently uses.